Career and Education Opportunities for Wholesale Buyers in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport, Connecticut provides a wide variety of opportunities, both career and educational, for wholesale buyers. The national trend for wholesale buyers sees this job pool shrinking by about 2.2% over the next eight years. In general, wholesale buyers buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods.

Income for wholesale buyers is about $23 per hour or $47,900 per year on average in Connecticut. Nationally, their income is about $23 hourly or $48,710 per year. Earnings for wholesale buyers are not quite as good as earnings in the general category of Representation in Connecticut and not quite as good as general Representation category earnings nationally. People working as wholesale buyers can fill a number of jobs, such as: sustainability purchasing agent, jobber, and contracts specialist.

There are seventy-five schools of higher education in the Bridgeport area, including six within twenty-five miles of Bridgeport where you can get a degree to start your career as a wholesale buyer. The most common level of education for wholesale buyers is some college courses. It will take a short time to learn to be a wholesale buyer if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Wholesale Buyer

Wholesale Buyer video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, wholesale buyers buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods. They also analyze past buying trends, sales records, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield.

Wholesale buyers examine orders, and purchase products consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements, and other factors. They also set or recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, and selling prices for products. Equally important, wholesale buyers have to interview and work closely with vendors to obtain and design desired products. They are often called upon to negotiate prices, discount terms, and transportation arrangements for products. Finally, wholesale buyers talk with sales and purchasing personnel to obtain data related to customer needs and preferences.

Every day, wholesale buyers are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to think through problems and come up with general rules. It is also important that they listen to and understand others in meetings.

It is important for wholesale buyers to analyze and monitor sales records, trends and economic conditions to anticipate consumer buying patterns and decide on what the company will sell and how much inventory is needed. They are often called upon to use computers to organize and locate inventory, and operate spreadsheet and word processing software. They also conduct staff meetings with sales personnel to introduce new products. They are sometimes expected to inspect products or products to establish value or yield. Somewhat less frequently, wholesale buyers are also expected to authorize payment of invoices or return of products.

Wholesale buyers sometimes are asked to train and supervise sales and clerical staff. and furnish clerks with data to print on price tags, such as price, mark-ups or mark-downs and style number. And finally, they sometimes have to examine orders, and purchase products consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements, and other factors.

Like many other jobs, wholesale buyers must have exceptional integrity and be able to deal with stress and deal with situations calmly.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Bridgeport include:

Agent. Represent and promote artists, performers, and athletes to prospective employers. May handle contract negotiation and other business matters for clients.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Wholesale Buyer Training

University of Bridgeport - Bridgeport, CT

University of Bridgeport, 126 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604-5620. University of Bridgeport is a medium sized university located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 5,323 students and an admission rate of 62%. University of Bridgeport has an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree program in Fashion Merchandising which graduated zero and ten students respectively in 2008.

Briarwood College - Southington, CT

Briarwood College, 2279 Mount Vernon Rd, Southington, CT 06489-1057. Briarwood College is a small college located in Southington, Connecticut. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs and has 715 students. Briarwood College has an associate's degree program in Fashion Merchandising which graduated five students in 2008.

Gibbs College - Norwalk, CT

Gibbs College, 10 Norden Place, Norwalk, CT 06855. Gibbs College is a small college located in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 430 students. Gibbs College has an associate's degree program in Fashion Merchandising which graduated sixty-four students in 2008.

SUNY Westchester Community College - Valhalla, NY

SUNY Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY 10595. SUNY Westchester Community College is a large college located in Valhalla, New York. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 11,090 students. SUNY Westchester Community College has an associate's degree program in Fashion Merchandising which graduated twelve students in 2008.

Quinnipiac University - Hamden, CT

Quinnipiac University, Mt Carmel Ave, Hamden, CT 06518. Quinnipiac University is a medium sized university located in Hamden, Connecticut. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 7,413 students and an admission rate of 45%. Quinnipiac University has a bachelor's degree program in Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations which graduated one student in 2008.

Gateway Community College - New Haven, CT

Gateway Community College, 60 Sargent Dr, New Haven, CT 06511. Gateway Community College is a medium sized college located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 5,140 students. Gateway Community College has 2 areas of study related to Wholesale Buyer. They are:

Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations, less than one year and associate's degree which graduated one and three students respectively in 2008.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport, Connecticut photo by Xtremeyanksfan22

Bridgeport is located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It has a population of over 136,405, which has shrunk by 2.2% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Bridgeport, 151, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in Bridgeport are valued at $110,900 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, twenty-six new homes were built in Bridgeport, down from forty-one the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Bridgeport are health care, educational services, and finance and insurance. For men, it is construction, administrative and support and waste management services, and accommodation and food services. The average commute to work is about 25 minutes. More than 12.2% of Bridgeport residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 4.6%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Bridgeport is 12.1%, which is greater than Connecticut's average of 8.3%.

The percentage of Bridgeport residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 70.1%, is more than both the national and state average. Calvary Episcopal Church, Golden Hill United Methodist Church and Good Shepherd Christian Church are among the churches located in Bridgeport. The most common religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ.

Bridgeport is home to the North Branch Bridgeport Public Library and the Challenger Learning Center as well as Went Field and Johnson Oak Park. Shopping centers in the area include Lafayette Shopping Plaza Shopping Center, Baldwin Plaza Shopping Center and Bayview Shopping Center.